


Peach Scone

by Call_Me_Kiba



Series: Dead Flowers For The Torn Apart [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Background Shiro/Curtis, Blood, Hanahaki Disease, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Skeletons, Vomiting, kosmo is a good boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 10:10:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18914839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Call_Me_Kiba/pseuds/Call_Me_Kiba
Summary: "I love the thought of being with you.Or maybe it's the thought of not being so alone."





	Peach Scone

**Author's Note:**

> Open ending, kinda choppy, but hey I'm sad again so. Ya know.
> 
> Enjoy.
> 
> Twitter: @kibathecryptid 
> 
> Tumblr: kibamakara

Keith loved the thought of being with Shiro. Or, maybe it was the thought of not being so alone. He hadn't quite figured that out yet, but as the days after the war went on, he knew he wouldn't have time anymore. The pressure in his chest was ready to kill him, and the petals he had been coughing up since he woke up after the Lions fell didn't sit well with him.

 

He looked through every pack of data, textbook, and archive between the Blade's database and what Coran had saved from the Castleship. Keith had contracted hanahaki, apparently. Unrequited love, taking physical form in the lungs as flowers, choking you until you either died or confessed. Keith had paled when he read more on it. There was no way he could confess to Shiro, not now. Not again. Not ever. There  _ had  _ to be an alternative.

 

So, he went to Coran.

 

“Hanahaki?” The Altean rubbed his chin, looking concerned. “That disease hasn't surface since the war began. Specific to Galra, unfortunately. There's only one true treatment for it. A friendship and being close to the subject of affection can keep it managed and not fatal. Do you know someone that has it?”

 

“Uh, y-yeah. One of the new Blade members, he's nervous about it.” Keith gripped Kosmo's fur, swallowing the itch in his throat. “He wanted to know if there were alternatives, like treatment.”

 

Surgery was the only option, but it left the patient with the inability to love ever again. Keith swallowed again, thanked Coran, and let Kosmo teleport him away before he was thrown into a coughing fit. He couldn't do that, not to himself. It had taken Keith so long to let himself feel love, and he wasn't going to give that up. Even if it would never be reciprocated and even if it was currently killing him.

 

Besides, Shiro was going to get married, and Keith was supposed to be his best man. He didn't have time to worry about the fact that he was puking bloodied, opalescent purple flowers.

 

A text from Shiro had him going across town to a little pastry shop, Kosmo at his side. Apparently, Curtis and Shiro had a small argument. Which didn't surprise Keith, at all. They had only been dating two months, not nearly enough time for someone to decide to get married. But Keith loved Shiro, and his happiness was important to Keith.

 

Oh, who was he kidding? He winced, ignoring the pain in his chest like how Shiro had actively ignored him since the war ended. The  _ only  _ reason Shiro was talking to him now was for wedding planning, nothing more. Keith wasn't important to Shiro anymore.

 

“Keith!”

 

_ ‘Put a brave face on, Kogane. Just, get it over with.’  _ Keith looked up, giving his best genuine smile to Shiro.

 

“Hey, Shiro. How's the planning?” Keith curled his fingers into Kosmo's fur, steadying himself. A deep sigh left Shiro as they sat down at a booth.

 

“Ugh, Curtis can be so picky. Everything has to be just right or he starts all over.” Shiro shrugged a little. “It would be cute if he didn't always have a stick up his backside.”

 

Keith zoned out as Shiro prattled on about the little things Curtis would do that annoyed him. God, how Keith loved the thought of being with Shiro. Or, maybe it was that he truly, truly loved him. That thought had his chest tightening, and he could swear he felt the flowers and thorns and vines spreading in his lungs.

 

“What should I do? He's just, so uptight.” Shiro gave him a look, he was expecting an answer.

 

Keith's throat worked around a cough, copper and a floral taste filling his mouth. He quickly washed it down with his drink. “I'm sure he'll turn around at some point, Shiro…”

 

That seemed to satisfy Shiro, and it made Keith's heart constrict. He could confess, throw a wrench in this sham of a relationship. Get it off his chest and pray that the flowers would leave. Or just tell Shiro he's dying, that the space wedged between them was literally killing him. Keith would even take a half assed friendship at this point. He wanted to be close to Shiro, love or not. Shiro had been the most important person in his life, and here he was, throwing Keith away like everyone else had.

 

So Keith just smiled, washed down the blood and petals, and went about his day.

 

And cried to Matt on the phone later that night.

 

_ “Hey, come on now, Kitkat. You gotta breathe and calm down before you get sick.”  _ Matt's voice was gentle, reassuring.

 

“Matty, he doesn't even want to be my friend anymore.” Keith held the phone away as he threw up another wave of petals and sobbed, a small pile already scattered at his feet. “He just- what do I do? He won't take the time to talk to me...”

 

Matt gave him a list of ideas that he could do to get Shiro, but Keith denied them all. Shiro was happy, and that was enough for him. The coughing and the pain escalated in the coming weeks, leaving him pale, weak, and sluggish. He dodged questions, concerns, Shiro never noticed. Of course he never noticed-

 

“Oh, hey Keith!” Curtis caught him in the hall of the Garrison, a smile on his face.

 

Keith forced his anger into the depths of his vine infested heart.

 

“Hi. Curtis, right?” A nod, and Keith forced himself to make small talk.

 

“So, Shiro talks about you a lot-” Curtis started, but the pain in Keith's chest flared, and whatever he was trying to keep locked away in his vine infested heart came tumbling out of his mouth along with the petals.

 

“Yeah, Shiro used to be so nice, he was so nice and cared about me. No one else did. I don't think I've ever felt love before that, honestly. He's a peach-” Keith choked on the words.

 

“A….peach?” Curtis frowned, not noticing the petals yet.

 

“A peach. Yes. And- I love the thought of being with him….I just really hope that she doesn't get hurt, ya know?” Keith wretched, throwing up a wave of blood and petals. Curtis's eyes widened, and he took a step back. “So, d-don't fucking hurt him, got it?”

 

Curtis was at a loss for words. He was more horrified at the bloody flower petals coming out of Keith's mouth. He reached out, ready to catch the Paladin as he swayed, but the wolf growled at him and teleported them away.

 

\----------------------------------

 

Keith was dying, pain exploding in his chest. Kosmo whined and placed around him where he lay on the floor of his old shack. No one would find him here, not that he wanted them to. He had sent a message to Matt, telling him he was sorry and that he wouldn't be able to make the wedding. He shut his communicator off before it could be traced.

 

“K-Kosmo…” his chest rattled, but the wolf whimpered and pressed into his side. “G-go...be- be a good boy…”

 

Kosmo huffed, licking the tear tracks on Keith's face. There was a flash of light, and Keith turned his head enough to see the black bayard in the form of a broadsword sunk into his floor.

 

Black purred weakly in the back of his mind, but it was like she knew. She knew Keith wouldn't make it, and this was her last attempt to protect him. A warm light surrounded him and the shack, like the light of the astral plane.

 

A weak, broken sob left him as the flowers burst from his chest, his throat, nose. They took root into the floor, breaking through the boards and planting themselves deep within the soil.

 

Keith couldn't help but think they were beautiful……

 

A lone, eerie howl pierced the quiet desert that night. Mourning in its tone.

 

A roar from the Garrison hangar mirrored it.

 

\----------------------------------------------

 

_ 15 years later _

 

Shiro let himself relax as he entered the Garrison for their yearly reunion. Cadets and officers bustled about, but paying him no mind. He was a civilian now, and he was seriously regretting his retirement. His marriage with Curtis was getting more strained as time went on, and Shiro itched for the stars again.

 

And for Keith.

 

Keith disappeared before the wedding, no indication as to why except for a text to Matt telling him he couldn't make it. Shiro knew why, but, what could he do? It was for the best…

 

“Shirogane.” Matt raised an eyebrow at him as they met in the hallway. Their friendship had tanked since the wedding, reduced to formalities and clipped tones.

 

“Matt….listen, I-” 

 

“Save it, Shiro. I still don't know where he is.” Matt tapped at his tablet, listening to his communicator before turning back to Shiro. “And we  _ still _ don't know what's wrong with Black. She powered down yesterday, I have a crew out searching for the weird readings we've been getting.”

 

Ah, right, Black. Fifteen years ago she had given one final roar, and went silent. Active, but unresponsive-

 

“Wait, what do you mean powered down?” Shiro raised a brow, concern filling his chest.

 

“Meaning, she's powered down. Coran said it's similar to death-” Matt paused when his communicator burst with static, panicked yelps from the cadets on patrol and loud snarling.

 

“What- report, Cadet! What the hell is going on?!”

 

_ ~**Sir! We have a situation- sending coordinates now- giant blue wolf-**~ _

 

Shiro gasped, giant wolf? There was only one blue wolf he knew of, and he also knew those coordinates by heart. He sprinted from Matt, ignoring the shouts of his name. He took the first hoverbike he came across and drove right out into the desert.

 

The cadets were cowering behind the rocks nearby when he approached, spewing something about the wolf being able to teleport. He assured them that he was a big softy, and that he would take care of it.

 

What he didn't expect, were the giant vines and bright, opalescent purple flowers covering the shack and the surrounding area. They looked alien, but Shiro carefully made his way inside.

 

A deep, menacing growl met his ears. He stopped, eyes wide.

 

“Kosmo?” Shiro couldn't believe it. The wolf had  _ grown _ since he last saw him. Kosmo was about the size of a horse now, towering over Shiro in that little shack. The wolf sniffed at him, teeth still bared and hackles raised before he settled, seeming to recognize Shiro.

 

Shiro let his eyes wander. The shack itself looked almost untouched by time and the elements, except the flowers. Kosmo himself looked ragged, thinner, but not too bad. Keith must be feeding him well-

 

“Hey, buddy. Where's Keith?” Shiro followed Kosmo as he whined, hunkering low enough to sulk into the next room.

 

The flowers completely covered the walls, the floor, making some sort of makeshift bed in the middle. A hole in the roof above it let the sunlight in, illuminating the space in a alien like glow. The plant was pretty, Shiro had to admit. But where was Keith? Keith without Kosmo was like….was like Shiro without Keith. It just, didn't happen.

 

_ ‘But it did, and I let it…’  _ he shook his head, watching Kosmo lay down in the middle and curl around, something. Shiro moved closer, leaning in to see what the wolf could he protecting. He caught a glimpse of the black bayard in his periphery, but recoiled onto his ass when the items he was staring at finally clicked.

 

Sun bleached bone, twisted up in the stems and vines of the flowers. The skull's jaw slack in what Shiro could only describe as agony, one arm twisted near its neck while the other held onto its ribcage, which looked to be busted out from the inside.

 

What made Shiro's heart freeze, though, what that familiar, almost perfectly preserved red jacket.

 

His anguish was drown out by the sirens in the distance.


End file.
